Attacks on the Press in 2007 - Snapshots: Senegal
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | February 2008 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Attacks on the Press in 2007 - Snapshots: Senegal, February 2008, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/47c5678cc.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In a criminal defamation lawsuit brought by a car dealership against the daily Walf Grand-Place, a court in the capital, Dakar, sentenced Director Jean Meïssa Diop and reporter Faydy Dramé to six-month suspended prison terms and 10 million CFA francs (US$23,000) apiece in damages on March 8. The charges related to a June 2006 story on a consumer complaint against the dealership.
In April, Director Ndiogou Wack Seck of the private, pro-government daily Il Est Midi was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay damages of 40 million CFA francs (US$90,000) on criminal defamation charges. Seck was barred from working as a journalist for three months and his paper was banned from publication for the same period. The charges stemmed from a story criticizing several figures close to President Abdoulaye Wade over their roles in the 2006 release from prison of embattled former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck.
Critical comments made during a call-in program led ruling party politician Moustapha Cissé Lô and a dozen supporters to ransack the studios of Radio Disso FM in the town of Mbacké in April. The station filed a complaint with the police, but Lô filed a countercomplaint demanding the closure of the station and 200 million CFA francs (US$452,000) in damages.
